NHSC, or perhaps something better

[LapisLazuli]

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alright, i have a question about this whole gov't-paying-your-way thing. i know HPSP makes you do your residency in some sort of military setting, but does NHSC also pigeonhole you into some crap gov't residency? with NHSC, can you do residency anywhere you want, or do they limit you to some cheesy set of hospitals in the midwest? in other words, can i do NHSC, then get a residency at like bellevue-ny or mass general, and then fulfill the 4 years of service?
i want to do some real service in underprivileged areas, but only for 4 years, not my entire life. i don't think having your entire career limited b/c of 4 years of tuition is a very good deal, but is that what NHSC is offering? i understand you need to specialize in some primary care field, that's obvious, and that's what i'll do anyway, but they don't even spell out what specialties are off limits? is endocrinology? certain types of surgery? preventive medicine? i def don't want to do family med my whole life...

if anyone knows the deal, i would really appreciate some help. thanks.

 

[mpp]

The NHSC website will answer most of your questions but to briefly summarize:

Primary care only (Family Med, Internal Med, Psychiatry, Ob/Gyn);
One year of service for each year of support (minimum of 2);
You must do your service after your residency (i.e., no fellowships/subspecialties until you complete your service commitment);
You do your residency wherever your want (residency years are not part of the service commitment);
Service sites are from a govt. database and are competitive (you apply to the sites you want and find one that will take you and I'll guarantee that Bellevue and Mass General are not on the list)

 

[LapisLazuli]

you leave me no choice but to reveal my own ignorance:
what exactly is "internal medicine"? i thought internal medicine was nothing but the sum of its subspecialty parts, like endocrinology, cardiology, etc.
there's a separate field thats just "internal medicine"? that sounds redundant and useless. and why wouldn't underserved areas need endocrinologists and cardiologists? do these specialties count as internal med for NHSC or not? (the site does not answer this.)

 

[jhug]

Residency: TOTALLY up to you
Field: Anything that falls under Primary Care (FP, IM, Peds, OB-GYN, Psych....surgery, ER, PM are not considered primary care at the time) . As far as the sub-specializing (cardiology, endo) you can do your residency in IM (which you have to do anyway), serve your time, and go back to sub-specialize in those fields...and then you are off to where ever you want to go.

The way i look at it is.....i know i want to go into either FP or Peds (where i could sub-specialize in a bunch of things after my 4 years if i wanted). So the scholarship pays my tuition/fees/stipend (+/-40k-ish /year)....and i'm lucky enough to finish med school with 0 debt. I'll do my residency (the best i can get) serve my commitment in an area i choose from their list (again, hoping to get the best site for me/my family) & work for a short four years. Best of all, because i end with zero debt i get to keep ALL (except uncle sam's chunck) of the money i make as a physician (90K-ish?). And if i love the area i'm in (which is the NHSC's greatest wish) i stay and that area is one more doc closer to not being underserved. If it just isn't for my/my fam...we move on.

Plug the numbers...40k-ish x 4= $120k + 90k-ish x 4 =$360k-ish total the two and we get $480-$500k saved/payed for...not to mention we get to work in unique areas of need...that who knows...we may just fall in love with and settle down in.

Factor in the not worrying about loans/paying bills/feeding the kids/having to work during med school (i know a few)....you can't put a price on that ability to totally forget all that stress and just focus at the task at hand...succeeding in med school.

(can you tell i'm happy i got the scholarship???🙂)

hope this helps.....any other questions?

 

[mpp]

For a description of internal medicine, see www.doctorsforadults.com